the nikkei index right now trading at 9521, a gain of over .5% from wednesday's close. traders said positive remarks about a fiscal cliff deal by president obama are aiding share prices. i guess port-related issues are leading the gains as the weakening trend of the yen is continuing. so let's take a look at the currency markets. the dollar is higher against the yen. that's on better than expected nonmanufacturing data out of the u.s. 82.40-43. euro/yen, that's in the mid 107 yen levels this thursday morning. taking a look at other markets in the asia-pacific, south korea's companiespy is 1949. let's take a look at australia. the benchmark index is lower by about.25%, 4508. let's see where china takes us when they open the next hour. >>> european commission regulators have imposed a fine worth almost $2 billion for running two price-fixing cars sells. they say it's the highest-ever anti-trust penalty in their history. the commission leaders said they fined six companies a total of $1.47 billion euros for anti-competitive behavior. the firms are panasonic and toshiba, sa